What Cities Are in GMT+5? Complete List of Major Cities
GMT+5 is one of those time zones most people do not think about until they need to call someone in Central Asia or Pakistan. It covers a surprisingly wide stretch of the world, from the mountains of Tajikistan to the coast of western India (well, almost -- India is GMT+5:30, which confuses people endlessly).
Here are the major cities currently observing GMT+5 year-round:
| City | Country | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Karachi | Pakistan | 16 million |
| Lahore | Pakistan | 14 million |
| Tashkent | Uzbekistan | 3 million |
| Ashgabat | Turkmenistan | 1 million |
| Dushanbe | Tajikistan | 1 million |
| Yekaterinburg | Russia | 1.5 million |
| Islamabad | Pakistan | 2 million |
| Faisalabad | Pakistan | 3 million |
| Rawalpindi | Pakistan | 2 million |
| Multan | Pakistan | 2 million |
| Almaty | Kazakhstan | 2 million |
| Bishkek | Kyrgyzstan | 1 million |
| Malé | Maldives | 250,000 |
One important note: Pakistan does not observe daylight saving time, so these cities stay on GMT+5 year-round. That was not always the case -- Pakistan tried DST a few times (2002, 2008, 2009) but abandoned it.
Why GMT+5 Does Not Shift
Most countries in this belt are tropical or subtropical enough that daylight hours do not vary dramatically through the year. DST makes more sense in northern latitudes where winter days can be brutally short. Countries like Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and the Maldives get roughly 10-14 hours of daylight depending on the season -- not enough variation to bother moving the clocks.
Business Hours in GMT+5
If you are scheduling calls with someone in a GMT+5 city:
- Standard work hours: 9 AM to 6 PM GMT+5
- In New York (EST): 11 PM to 8 AM (ouch)
- In London: 4 AM to 1 PM (morning window works)
- In Dubai (GMT+4): 8 AM to 5 PM (manageable)
- In India (GMT+5:30): 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM (barely an hour difference)
The sweet spot for international calls with GMT+5 cities is typically 9 AM to 11 AM GMT+5, which catches the end of the business day in Europe and the start in East Asia.